Thread: TX: Man Takes 11 year old "Girlfriend" back to Mex

Now, I'm putting this in the General Discussion section as I can't find out any information at to whether the 11 year old girl is an anchor baby and/or the 23 year old man is an illegal alien from Mexico. Of course, as usual, the article is lax on some of those kinds of details. I'll try to see if I can possibly find more info about this.

But it's still a pretty darn disturbing article about a Mexican man (legal or not) having an 11 year old girlfriend, and the parents never seeming to notice that their daughter was in a relationship with him.

Please post something if you find out more details!

TexasGal



State's Amber Alert
Policy Questioned

Created On: Friday, 30 Jan 2009, 9:37 PM CST

* By LINDA STEWART BALL, Associated Press Writer

TYLER - A state agency's refusal to issue an Amber Alert for a missing 11-year-old girl believed to have run off with a convicted felon was questioned Friday by advocates for missing children and a Texas lawmaker.

They said the Department of Public Safety should reconsider its policy of issuing the alerts only when children are abducted by strangers or taken unwillingly.

"People who prey on children more often use seduction rather than ropes," said Rep. Garnett Coleman, a Houston legislator who has focused on children's issues.

Police in Tyler, about 100 miles east of Dallas, requested the Amber Alert after the girl's mother reported her missing. The girl's friends said she may be with 23-year-old Enrique Vasquez, whom they described as her boyfriend. The girl's parents told police that Vasquez played soccer with her father, but they were unaware of any relationship between the two and he did not have permission to take their child.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Vasquez, who was convicted of burglary in 2006, on charges of kidnapping and a probation violation.

DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said the Amber Alert was created in response to the 1996 kidnapping and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, and was primarily intended for use in stranger abduction cases.

If overused, the system could become less effective, Mange said, adding that about 7,000 people are reported missing in Texas each year, most of them runaways.

"This guy is not a stranger," said Mange. "As horrible as it is, he's not a stranger."

Although the Amber Alert program is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, states are allowed to set their own procedures on how and when it should be used.

Texas' Amber Alert criteria is similar to those recommended by the Justice Department, but adds a provision requiring that the child be "unwillingly taken from their environment without permission" of a parent or guardian.

But child advocates wonder if the state's policy is too narrow.

Marilyn Ward, executive director of Houston-based National Missing Children's Center, said the DPS should also allow alerts for runaways aged 14 and younger.

"In this case, even if she went willingly, she's 11 years," Ward said. "An 11-year-old can be coerced to do all kinds of things, especially with an older man like that. I'd like them not to adhere so tightly to the rules."

Theresa Tod, executive director of the Texas Network of Youth Services, said while the Amber Alert can't be used for every runaway, "in this instance it absolutely makes sense. There is an adult that the child is alleged to be with."

Cathy Crabtree, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas, Inc. in Austin, agreed.

"There's no question the way the penal code is written, that a child 14 and under cannot give consent," Crabtree said. "I can't imagine that the same thought process ... would not apply as well to abduction, particularly considering that this person is not a family member or relative."

"If they pick this guy up and find out he's had a sexual relationship with this child, regardless of whether she went with him willingly, there's no way they can't press charges," Crabtree said. "What harm can there be in running it versus the potential harm of not finding this child?"

Of the 236 requests to DPS for Amber Alerts since 2002, only 42 were activated -- or about 18 percent, according to agency records. Two alerts have been requested so far this year and both were denied.

"It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable," the girl's mother, Maira Macias, told the Associated Press Friday.

"But I think they (the Tyler Police) are doing everything they can," she said in Spanish.

Even in such cases, local law enforcement agencies can still issue regional and local Amber Alerts using their own criteria. But only the DPS alerts are displayed on electronic highway signs and the National Weather Service. Ward and others say that's important because more people are likely to see the alerts, especially in major metropolitan areas.

The governor's office said Friday that it's open to revisiting the criteria if law enforcement think changes should be made.

"These are some of Texas' most vulnerable, our children," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for the governor. "So we certainly would be open to ensuring their safety in any way that we can."

Associated Press Writers Anabelle Garay and Danny Robbins contributed to this report.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486259,00.html

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/States ... Policy_Que

Ok, found an update. It sure seems like they're ALL illegals, although none are saying that. (See the below paragraph in bold).

Anyone want to move this to the News section?

TexasGal



Missing Tyler girl, 11, is in custody of Mexican relatives, police report

03:17 PM CST on Saturday, January 31, 2009

Associated Press

TYLER – An 11-year-old East Texas girl believed to have run away with a 23-year-old convicted felon was in the care of a relative in Mexico on Saturday, police said.

Tyler police said a family member in Monterrey, Mexico was now caring for the girl.

Meanwhile, investigators are working with U.S. and Mexican authorities to apprehend Enrique Vasquez. Vasquez was last seen in Monterrey, Mexico, said Officer Don Martin, a Tyler spokesman.

The girl's friends have described Vasquez as her boyfriend.

Her parents say Vasquez played soccer with the father, but they were unaware of any relationship between the two. They say Vasquez did not have permission to take their child.

Vasquez was convicted of burglary in 2006. Police issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of kidnapping and violating probation after the girl went missing early Sunday. He could face additional charges, Martin said.

Police in Tyler, about 100 miles east of Dallas, issued an Amber Alert for the area after the girl's mother reported her missing. The Texas Department of Public Safety did not issue a statewide alert because its policy is to call Amber Alerts only when children are abducted by strangers or taken unwillingly.

Police said the girl's family was at police headquarters when the mother, Maira Macias, received a call from her daughter around 7:30 p.m. Friday. The girl told her she was in Mexico.

The girl and her parents are from Mexico. Macias told The Associated Press they had known Vasquez for less than a year and believe he is from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi.

The car officials believe Vasquez was initially driving was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Irving on Tuesday afternoon.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 3b17b.html

Originally Posted by TexasGal

Ok, found an update. It sure seems like they're ALL illegals, although none are saying that.

I am constantly annoyed by the media when they fail to report ALL the details that are known. 'It's not relevant to the news being reported' is one excuse I've heard. Let me be the judge of that I say.

In the NYC area it's only reported if the IA is a multiple killer. If the IA only kills one person they will try to bury the fact he was an IA. Lesser crimes and it's NEVER mentioned even when they know full well the crime was committed by an IA.

It sure might be a case involving illegals, but I can't find a story that specifies anyone's status.

This kind of story is just mind boggling! What kind of sorry piece of 23 year old human garbage could ever see an 11 year old as a girlfriend? I just can't understand this. How could a grown man see anything is a child? I hope they catch this creep and put him in a nice friendly prison where he can get what is coming to him. Then pack the whole family up and send them all back to Mexico.

Sorry, but I get pretty angry over stuff like this. What the heck is wrong with a country (Mexico) and its people that they legally condone adults having sexual relationships with children? Its little wonder they come here and display the same lack of morals and ethics. It will take generations to change this culture.

Hmmm...11 years old, huh?...isn't that a little old for these mexican guys?